Book Club Questions for John Green’s

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is the first novel that our Wisconsin YA Bloggers/Authors/Educators/Librarians group chose to read for our book club. (We definitely need an official name!) We’ll be meeting this coming Sunday and I can’t wait to discuss it with these incredible women. I’ll wait to post my review, though I will say that I finished the novel in one night, so that gives readers a clue on just how amazing I found TFiOS. I started thinking about different aspects of the novel, which made me curious about what our book club members thought about a particular character, concept, scene. So, I decided to put a SHORT list of questions together and share them on WhoRuBlog. (I am sure there are other study guides. If I run across them, I will link them at the bottom.)

1. John Green has numerous characters with various relationships/reactions to cancer. What did you like/dislike about these characters? How would you describe their personalities? How do you identify with them? Do they remind you of people you know? • Hazel –

• Hazel’s mother –

• Hazel’s father –

• Hazel’s friend Kaitlyn –

• Augustus –

•Augustus’s mother –

• Augustus’s father –

• Augustus’s half-sisters (spouses, children) –

• Support Group Patrick –

• Isaac –

• Isaac’s girlfriend Monica –

• Peter Van Houten –

• Lidewj –

• Dr. Maria –

2. If you could only choose one scene/moment/dialogue that had the most impact on you, which one would it be and why? And don’t say the entire novel – we know!

3. How (if at all) has TFiOS changed your perspective of cancer or those who are living with it?

4. It was important to Augustus that his actions/existence would leave a mark on this world. How does he do that? How do you do that?

5. Hazel uses the word “hamartia” or “tragic flaw” to describe Augustus when he stuck a cigarette between his lips and it also describes Peter Van Houten and his drinking. The differences between these two are night and day – and a brilliant metaphor. What was your perspective/reaction?

Feel free to add your own questions or comments by clicking the “comments” button below. Also, if you find a link for other study guides, feel free to add it. Thanks.

ADDED February 19:

A huge perk of getting the CD version of TFiOS is the incredible seven bonus videos on DVD narrated by John Green. He explains the name choices, the history of how the book came to be, the background of The Hectic Glow etc. We watched them in our book club and I think we all really enjoyed them. It also impacted our discussion, so that was definitely a positive!

Have questions about TFiOS? Check out: OnlyifyoufinishedTFiOS.tumblr.com (The password is the last word in the acknowledgments) – Please don’t go to this website unless you have finished the novel!

Also for book club, I brought a chicken salad that was inspired by the novel. Though chicken salad isn’t specifically mentioned, food from Holland is included, and this definitely is similar to chicken salads I found on the net for recipes from Holland. This recipe was given to me by my friend, Sarah Kealy. Enjoy.

Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked and diced boneless skinless chicken

1 cup celery

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup toasted pecans

3 apples peeled and diced

Dressing:

2 Tbs OJ

4 teas Dijon Mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 teas honey

2 Tbs lemon juice

1/4 cup canola oil

Added 12-17-2012

Make the DRAGON CARROT RISOTTO:

Hazel and Gus eat dragon carrot risotto. pg. 165

Dragon carrots are PURPLE. They’re not too hard to find, but call around first. I got in touch with an organic farm. For more details from our Novel Cuisine Luncheon check here: http://www.whorublog.com/?p=1570